The Legend of Avatar Aang
by libowie
Summary: They tell me he is the most powerful being on the earth, but he had to be a kid once, too... A drabble series. Chapter 4 up: [Time means nothing to me, but suddenly, I hate these one hundred years.]
1. Water: Ocean

**Ocean**

The wind in the Temple is cool, and laughter floats along the breeze until it reaches his ears. The boy should be playing right now, a group of friends stand on wooden poles and wait for him to join, but today he doesn't feel like fun.

Today there is an ache in his heart, and he instead sits by the pond and stares at it for a long, hard time. The passing monks leave him be, assuming he is trying to meditate, or imagining himself with arrows marked along his body as many young boys do, but the thoughts of this child are not so innocent.

The thoughts of this child are greedy and ungrateful, though he doesn't know it. The thing he wants most is not to meditate, or to picture arrows he knows he will one day earn, but something with much more longing and sorrow, something that would offend the monks so badly he doesn't even tell Gyatso.

But the teacher finds out anyway, because he can hear the boy speak in his sleep, mumbles through tears of wanting and needing and hearing voices call to him, and him following.

When you have a bison, Gyatso would tell him, then you can follow, but for now you stay with me, at the temple, with the air.

And the boy loves Gyatso, and he loves the temple, and he loves the air, but what he wants more than anything is to see the ocean…

_**Note:**__ This will be a mini drabble series I'm creating to fill the void in my heart that the loss of Kataang ABA caused…_


	2. Water: Stormy Nights

**Stormy Nights**

Weeks had past since the disappearance. That's what they were calling it now. It didn't seem to matter that it was _Aang_ who was missing, as much as the fact that the Avatar was gone. Everyone in the Temple was worried, as were all of Aang's other friends around the world after being interrogated as to the boy's whereabouts (Although Bumi protested he didn't know, the palace had still been searched _thoroughly_).

Gyatso's days were long, seeing as how he wasn't allowed to travel with the search parties (he couldn't be trusted to bring Aang back to the Temple) and without Aang to mentor, he was left to wallow in memories.

There were the good memories, of cakes and smiles and games of air ball and pai shou, but there were also the bad memories (for some reason, all having to do with Aang finding out he was the Avatar) of the small boy near to tears as he begged for a break in training, and of disapproving monks covered in pastry, and sad late-night questions of _why, Gyatso, why me?_

But none of the memories dug into Gyatso as deep as the one he blamed himself for. The memory that took place on the night it had been storming, when Gyatso was slowly making his way back to Aang's quarters after receiving the bad news. Just as he was about to tell Aang he would never let the monks take him away, he found the room empty of everything but a letter, explaining Aang had already taken himself away.

With the storm blaring outside, Gyatso had rushed out to the stables, to find Appa missing, and his fears confirmed. One of his fellow monks found Gyatso there the next morning, a scroll tucked safely into his soaked robes, sitting in a puddle and staring out into the horizon. The scroll was taken to the abbot, who had thrown it down in anger (an emotion rarely displayed in the Temple) and the search parties were released.

But Gyatso knew it was hopeless, for he had been there that night, sitting out in the middle of the storm while the rest of the Temple slept, and he saw the bluish glow erupting from the Temple Sanctuary. He knew Aang had activated the Avatar State, and he knew why. The monks searched the Earth Kingdom, they checked the Poles and the every last forest and village in the Fire Nation, but they weren't searching in the right places.

Because although Gyatso wasn't there for Aang that night of the storm, he was there all the other nights, and he heard the mumbles and whispers about the water, and the rivers and pond and lakes and rain, and he heard the longing for the _ocean._

Gyatso knew where Aang was, and he knew Aang was alive and moving on to his next element, but he wouldn't tell the others because the others wouldn't listen, and even though he knew these things he still slept with that old water logged scroll in Aang's quarters on nights when it stormed.

Because for Gyatso, the memories were thick and the sorrow was heavy and his days were long, but his nights were longer.

And out of all the children in the Temple (the children Gyatso thought were Aang's friends) only one had come up to him, crying, and asked where Aang was. Gyatso patted the boy's head and tapped him in the chest.

"Right here" Gyatso responded, finger on the boy's heart. "Right here."


	3. Water: Before and After

**Before And After**

It's strange how an insignificant fishing trip can separate your life into before and after.

Gran-Gran had been nagging him about hunting, so Sokka had hastily put a few belongings into his canoe and prepared for an early morning fishing trip the following day.

He rose before the sun and crept out into the chilly morning. After a minute or so of letting his eyes adjust, Sokka started off toward the canal were he had docked his canoe, absently noting the moon was full.

When he reached the canal he knelt down in the snow and slipped a gloved hand in the black water, while raising the other hand to the sky and mumbling a prayer for a safe journey.

Only Twi and La knew just how long of a journey Sokka would be embarking on.

As he climbed into the boat Sokka heard shuffling behind him, and turned to see his sister standing in the moonlight. Despite his manliness, Sokka let out a shriek and tumbled backwards, hitting the bottom of the canoe with a thud.

"Sheesh Katara! What are doing here, you should be back with Gran-Gran!"

Katara didn't laugh at his clumsiness or flinch at his harsh tone of voice; instead she stared him straight in the eye and told him "I'm coming with you."

"What?!" Sokka was beginning to lose his patience. "Katara, you're just a girl, you'll mess everything up!"

Katara ignored her brother completely and stepped into the boat, steadying herself by putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Get off'a me!" he growled, and thumped Katara impatiently on the arm with the oar. "Fine, if you won't leave at least don't get in the way"

Sokka was always grumpy before breakfast.

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It wasn't until the sun rose that Sokka realized exactly _why_ Katara had been up during the full moon, and he rolled his eyes and warned his sister one of these days her flying water nonsense was going to anger some big spirit.

Because Sokka was a warrior, and didn't want to get into any of that freaky magic stuff.

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And later on in the fishing trip when that giant glowing ice orb popped out of the water, Sokka forgot the fact that this was all his sister's fault, and all he wanted to do was _protect_ her.

When the thing opened its glowing eyes and Katara darted off toward it, Sokka screamed after her, but he really couldn't do a thing.

He was frozen in place, his feet stuck to the ice and the harsh cold burning his lungs, and for a moment he thought he saw La, the spirit of the ocean, right there in that block of ice.

For a moment, Sokka the warrior believed in magic and spirits and Katara's flying water, even though the thought scared him more than an entire Fire Navy.

For a moment, he didn't want to go after his sister because he was so overwhelmed by the enormity of it all, and knew he was in the presence of something much bigger than himself, bigger than the entire ocean.

As big as, one might say, the Avatar.

_**Note:** Mmmm-fff, yes I know, it's so short, but I'm very fond of it, and I checked over it a lot, and i just thought it was perfect enough for me. In this story Sokka's sexist manner was based off my brother._

_I would love to get some more reviews on this story, please!_


	4. Water: Told By La

**Told by La**

I have missed the Avatar.

I'm sure my Twi missed him, too, but not as much as I have.

For a hundred years is a long time to go without feeling complete, without the Avatar bending me. A hundred years is many phases of the moon, many tides, and many circles in our little oasis.

Time means nothing to me, but suddenly, I hate these one hundred years.

The breezes that glide over my oceans are happy, the air is at peace, and the air is complete because the Avatar has mastered it. But I am restless, and so is the Earth, for when I lap against it I feel its quakes. I imagine the Fire feels the same way.

We all miss the Avatar, for although he lies in my oceans, he is wrapped in a pocket of air, and I cannot feel him, and he does not move me.

And so when the Southern girl who loves me frees him, I am happy. And when he begins to travel to the North Pole to master me, I am very happy.

But while he travels he only bends me with his Spirit, and I can feel my other Avatars, Roku, Kyoshi, and so on, but I want to feel my new Avatar bend me. I want to be mastered by Aang.

And the Southern girl offers to teach him, and I am very, very happy.

And his lessons progressed, and he became better, and he takes his time to learn me, and make sure every move is exactly like his teacher shows, but although he learns me slowly, it is nothing compared to the one hundred long years of waiting.

He shall master me -the water- soon, and I shall be as happy as the air.

_**Note:**__ Yeah, I know I'm a weirdo for writing a chapter from the point of view of Water, but it sounded like a cool idea in my head…_

_This concludes my little "water" series, and next up shall be earth!_


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